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A Sleepless Nightmare
---- Maaya Xavier twirled her parasol lightly as she walked under the stars. It wasn't raining, in fact, it was quite mild right now but still, she walked with her parasol up like some sort of noble. She walked in her uniform, crisp and clean as she hummed songs to herself. It was rather late at night - or early in the morning others could say - as she sighed a little. She had things to do tomorrow and yet here she was, wandering the towns at night because she couldn't quite get to sleep. She tutted at herself. This won't do, no it won't do at all, she thought before spinning around, making her way back towards the hotel the rest of the Troupe was staying at. Part of her knew there was no point, she had walked far and by the time she would get back it was time to start the day anew. Her heels kept clicking forward either way. A morning stroll was nice in the end after all. Andrei Sokolov was walking through the area. It was midnight, and as it was Wednesday, he wouldn't be sleeping at all. He fidgeted with a pebble that was in his hand, turning the corner and beginning to walk behind another person. Alarms rang in his mind, he hadn't expected someone to be walking at this time. It seemed suspicious. He casually pulled out his phone and began to search for it. He noticed a friend of his had asked him to help him in the search for a wanted individual. He sighed, taking a look at who it was. A pink-haired girl... He looked up and noticed the girl ahead of him, with magenta hair. He cursed under his breath. He had found his target. Maaya walked on with such a casual tone to herself. She had noticed the man behind her but didn't really cause herself for demand but she was getting rather lonely. Looking at her watch she started to slow down so she would be walking next to the man. She might as well make herself some company. With a small smile, she pulled her parasol down and started to use it as a stick to walk on. "Such a fine evening to walk on, don't you think, dear?" her tone was sickly sweet as always but her smile stayed. Too some it would seem almost crooked and evil while to others it would seem warm and welcoming. It just depended on what team they were on. He looked down at the girl next to him. She was drastically shorter than him. He decided to make conversation, maybe get some more information. "It is," he responded. They walked forwards in silence for some time. "I never caught your name," he began. "I'm Andrei." "Hmm, people call me Phantom, such a hideous name," she tutted and shook her head. "What are you doing out so late anyway, dear? Shouldn't you be sleeping, be ready for the new day as they say?" So she was who he thought he was. He acted as if the name was nothing of concern. "Interesting name," he responded. "I could say the same to you, Phantom." he continued. He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm not tired." Maaya screwed up her face. This man was hard to read or to understand but she nodded anyway. "I guess something about a busy timetable just feels me with excitement for the new dawn. Maybe it is that that has kept me awake. Or maybe it's just the uncertainty, will the day go as planned or will it fall into your hands?" she looked back up at the young man and smiled. "I guess only time can tell," Andrei was surprised. He hadn't expected her to act so maturely, especially for her age. He sat down on a nearby bench, sighing. His warm breath met the cold air, and it created steam. "So, Phantom," he began. "What do you do for a living?" Maaya looked at the bench before her watch. Hoshi would be able to deal with the morning routines anyways she thought to herself before sitting down on the bench as well. Once comfy she turned to Andrei. "Well, some would say I am a gipsy while others will say I am a ringmaster of a circus and they would say I am just some girl barking orders from above," she laughed at her own joke a little before returning the question to him. He laughed in response. “That’s fun,” he responded. “Me? I make stuff. Little trinkets that help around. It’s pretty fun.” he finished. Sure, he was supposed to take her in, but he was starting to enjoy himself a bit. He pushed those thoughts away. He just had to confirm if she truly was his target. "Trinkets?" She looked at him up and down before catching her eyes on the ring. Shiny things always caught her eyes. "You're a jeweller?" Maaya asked, actually unsure of what kind of trinkets he was talking about. The man wore many weird things she had never seen before but so did almost everyone in this day and age. To be normal was to be weird, or so she thought. "Oh, no," he responded. He removed the ring from his finger and placed it onto his palm. "I make technological creations," he said, spinning the ring on his finger. As it did, it began to hover in front of them and produced a hologram of the area around them. He snapped his fingers, and the hologram vanished, the ring flying onto his finger. "Pretty cool, huh?" Maaya watched in awe for a while before smiling. "A powerful gift you got then, I am sure people are proud of these trinkets and some proud to own them," Maaya paused for a second. She smiled softly at the school as it started to clear a little. The stars watching over them. "Gotta love a view, right dear?" "It's nice, yeah..." he murmured. Did he really have to take her in? If he got enough proof, he was bound by his duty to take her in. He exhaled loudly, leaning back into the bench. "You from around these parts?" "I travel, lived a long time in Germany. Mainly my parent's fault," she laughed softly, nervous. "Haven't seen them since then, hoping I never see them from now on. Don't think I could even know what I will do," she shivered at the thought. She always hated the thought of her parents. SHe built her rule, her one rule of never harming someone physically and yet each time her parents just made her angry and she could-. With a deep breath, she forced a smile before looking at Andrei, her eyes were almost frosty a little. "Do you live here, Andrei sounds quite foreign to me, if you don't mind me saying that is," that right, change the subject to him. There was no need for her to talk about her personal life to a stranger. "I do live here now. I was born in Russia, stayed there until I was six," he responded. He began to fidget with his ring, unsure of what to talk about now. He had noticed her wanting to change the subject, not wanting to dwell on her past. She wasn't giving out more information than she had to, which was smart of course. "Earlier you said you were a ringmaster of a circus? Do you plan on performing anytime soon?" "Of course, I actually do a few acts. Tightrope, dancing, tightrope stunts while dancing and I also use my quirk to try and grant wishes," she kicked her feet a little, swinging them from left to right. "It's pretty fun, been doing this stuff since I was like 10!" "Wishes? What do you mean by that?" he asked. If she was who he thought she was, this information would be absolutely crucial. "Well, my quirk allows me to create a contract where I am able to give a person something for the exchange of another thing. Depending on what they ask for depends of course," Maaya answered. "That's pretty cool," Andrei responded. "Do you know when I can check out one of your performances?" Maaya nodded, getting up from her seat she brushed some dust that gathered on the bottom of her skirt. "We are actually started soon if you would like to see a show, dear?" Maaya wasn't the most friendly of people but Andrei was someone else. She hadn't met many people during her midnight strolls but it was nice to have this kind of stroll and actually see someone. She invited a hand out for him to take. He nodded, accepting her hand. "I'd love to," he responded. He was somewhat excited, but he didn't know why. "So," he began. "Where to?" "Well I better wake up the troops first!" she smiled leading him towards the hotel where the rest of the Troupe was resting, it was nearly about time to wake them up anyway. The winding path wasn't that long, Maaya had already managed to walk about half of it before they got to the bench. The hotel wasn't exactly the best of places, a bit shabby at areas but Maaya welcomed him in like it was her home. Maaya was happy to see the place was up and alive as people ran in and out of the door with poles and fabric. Maaya waved towards Hoshiko who only sighed, commanding other people to move before heading towards her. SHe took one look at Andrei before shaking her head. "Midnight strolls aren't for picking updates, he's a bit old for you Phantom," Maaya responded by sticking out her tongue, the first instance of her being a child since meeting Andrei. The two relaxed and started to laugh. Hoshi left quickly going back to helping others out. Maaya pointed to a seat before smiling. "Want some food, I am starved, to be honest?" Andrei smiled, he was enjoying himself slightly. He shook that thought out of his mind, he was here to collect information, not to have fun. He slightly turned red at Hoshiko's comment, but still chuckled. When Maaya asked if he wanted food, he smiled. "Sure, what do you guys have?" Maaya thought for a moment. "Well we have crumpets and tea from England, croissants and some lemonade from France and I are pretty sure Hoshi is hiding a stash of bacon there's no way that girl ate all of the bacon we collected already," she laughed before realising she was rambling. "Just name your choice, trust me, we most likely have it," she leaned it before whispering, "we have a bad habit of hoarding!" He laughed. "Alright, in that case, do you guys have scrambled eggs? I can't really manage a big breakfast right in the morning." Maaya nodded, placing her parasol next to him she ran off the kitchen. Grabbing an apron while shooing a few people who had been slacking their work she hummed to herself while making the two a meal. Hoshiko, as always, came up beside her. "Do you know who this man is?" Maaya shook her head, ignoring her a little as she kept humming to herself. "Maaya, you need to be careful, this man can shut us down if-" "he won't" Maaya cut in, stopping what she was doing. "I've run this show long enough to know what I am doing, focus on your job Hoshiko!" It was silent for some time before Hoshiko left the room, Maaya frowned before forcing back on a smile as she put the scrambled eggs and toast on a plate. She left the kitchen and tango past a few people who tried to get their work down. With a bit of flair, she dropped the plates down on the table. "That will be two scrambled eggs, seasoned to perfection with a side of toast, sir," she joked. Maaya wasn't one to let a little tension get her down. He smiled, bowing back jokingly. "Why, thank you, my lady," he said, gratefully accepting the plates. Andrei took a bite. "Mmm, this is great! Do you eat like this every day?" "Sometimes, some days I tell them all to fend for themselves since the kitchen can get chaotic and other days I'll feed them, depends on me I guess," she took a few bites of her own food. "Well, you can hear my morning chaos around me, what is your morning like, nothing like this I hope." Andrei nodded. "My morning always a bit...boring," he stated. "I don't really sleep often, so I'm always awake. So I'll be working on some of my more big-scale or important projects." he continued. "So, is Phantom really your name?" She giggled a little. "Wouldn't you like to know," she teased before taking another bite. "Would the name Maaya be helping you, dear?" He smirked. "I believe it does," he responded. He took a bite out of the toast and placed it back on his plate. "That's a nice name, Maaya," he responded. "So, in your show, what's your favourite act?" Maaya swang on her chair. "Hard question..." She looked at the many acts around her before landing back down on the floor. "I guess it would be my own, it's why I do it after all. Hoshiko performance is also very amazing though, her illusions seem so real to me!" she smiled, her eyes seemed to glitter a little. "I m sure after one show you will see how amazing we all are!" "I hope so too! So, when is your show starting?" "Getting impatient are we," she stood up and looked around before speaking something foreign, sounding German. A few acts looked at her before nodding, the speed around them seemed to pick up. "Should be soon now, if you would like I can escort you to the tent before I will have to leave you to get changed myself," she brought out her hand while picking up her parasol with the other. He accepted her hand, smiling. "Sure thing, Maaya. Lead the way?" She smiled and nodded, opening the doors to the morning sun outside. A small frown was on her mouth once she saw the sun, she was a bit behind schedule but it was manageable at least. There was almost a small conga line towards the tent as she noticed her acts walking slowly towards it. Cutting the line, she guided Andrei towards a large field. Right in the middle was a large tent. Unlike most circus tents this one was not red and bright and colourful, wear and tear had shown this tent better days and the stripes of red and black looked almost haunting at places. Maaya noted to herself that she would need to use her budget for that. Pulling back the curtains form the back entrance of the tent, it had slowly got packed itself. She did a quick head count noting about 100 people. She got the front row and there sat a log shaped like a bench. Hundreds of them lined the tent while at the very back proper chairs sat for the elderly and for acts. "This will be the last time we shall see each other before I am on stage, I hope you enjoy the Troupe of Treachery, any last things you need?" "I should be fine," he said. He turned around but stopped. He turned back around and stared right into Maaya's eyes. "Good luck, yeah?" Maaya stopped and looked at Andrei. It was like a moment froze before she went back to normal smiling from ear-to-ear. "Don't worry, I've got this!" but something about the way he said that made her uneasy. She left worrying about it but as soon as one of the newer troupe members came up, tears in their eyes, she went back to normal. Swift comforts and shouts at slackers she got to her dressing room. The uniform was quickly dropped, the plain and clean white suit was replaced for a rather more elegant clothing. A dress that looked like royalty itself was placed on with colours of red and back. Noble purple roses covered the skirt before she started to place her black tights and red shoes on. Lastly, she had the accessories, most likely the heaviest thing of her dress. She placed her crown, replacing her white flower, tidied up her hair before placing the golden wings with purple feathers and different colours of pink and blue roses. One look into the mirror and she knew she was ready. She left her dressing room to meet with Hoshiko, now dressed in a plain white dress with black outlines and inlays. This was the most important conversation for the two. "Two cops on the left and right outside, there's few inside the tent, they seem content on watching." "You can deal with the ones inside, got someone on the outside?" "Of course." "Then it's showtime!" She stepped from the grass towards the tent, the lights dimmed inside until only one spotlight shined on the entrance. With a pause and a deep breath, Maaya made the biggest smile on her face, dancing inside the tent before jumping and twirling, making her entrance as elegant but entertaining as possible. Landing in the middle, a mic was dropped from above. She caught it with ease, clearly practising her moves time and time again. She looked at the audience, a few seats empty but overall she was packed. For the first time today, she eased up and let herself out. "Welcome to the Troupe of Treachery, we shall betray your trust and insists with our wonderful magic, comedy and entertainment tonight ladies and gentleman so try not to blink for me, alright," she winked before producing her hand out to the left and the right. It seemed like she was embracing the audience for a second. "We got some special shows for you guys today but first up we have our illusionists and one of your favourite acts, Trick Star!" with the introduction over, Hoshiko took over the stage, the spotlight finding her and Maaya dashed off the area in the middle of the darkness. Hoshi stood still before inviting her hand out, picking a woman out of the audience. "Today, you shall be my assistance, remember the day you have had this greeting my fair lady," her voice was like honey as it travelled through the room. As soon as the two touched hands they disappeared. Awes came from the audience as heads looked around for where the two could have gone. In reality, the two were still standing where they were. Her quirk had taken effect and made the two seemly disappear. Guiding the woman upstage she smiled softly. "What is my assistant's name then?" The woman stood there, looking at the audience as they stared in every direction for the voice that spoke. There was some slight confusion on her face but she looked back towards Hoshiko who waited patiently for her answer. "H-Hana Watanabe..." the woman was quite shy, something Hoshi wasn't planning but she would deal with it no of the less. With the long pause, Hoshiko finally revealed herself to the others as people pointed at the two in the middle. A light applause sounded but this was merely the beginning. "Hana and I will show you the world of illusions," as she spoke Indian elephants came out from the curtains only one or two were really the rest simply mice or other animals Hoshi had gathered to move. This time the woman saw elephants like the rest of the audience, she gasped and looked around. Hoshi paused a little letting people watch the elephants as she raised her hands slowly like she was controlling everything around her. All she was doing was controlling what people were perceiving. "Hana, what is your favourite animal?" Hoshi smiled, the question is simple but the plan, not so much. Hana was silent before whispering her wishes. A simple nod and the changes were done. Indian elephants shrank and transformed into colours of brown, black and white. Ears shrank and each animal became unique. Before long around twenty different types of dogs were running wild around Hoshi and Hana, some moving into the audience but whenever someone tried to reach out they would disappear before appearing back on the stage. With one arm as high as Hoshi could possibly put it, she clicked her fingers. The dogs stopped moving and looked at Hoshi before coming towards her but that wasn't the only signal being made with a click of her fingers. Fuji Aoi stood outside and once the click was heard she disconnected all of the police's hardware. "Back up, negative," she riddled through a microphone. Maaya smiled softly an nodded, through Fuji wouldn't know it yet, she was doing good. Maaya took a deep breath and stayed in the shadows. It was her move very soon. Hoshi was going all out. She knew Maaya was close by but she had to keep the audience attention away from Maaya. Prying eyes always ruined the fun. Producing a wand out of a stick and then turning it into a bouquet Hoshi smiled at her helper before handing the bouquet to her. It wasn't over. Before Hana had a chance to take them away Hoshi transformed it away, now the stick was back but a lot longer than before. As she took it from her a golden ornament stood at the top. Hoshi simply pointed towards it before lifting her right arm in the air. The spotlight changed and moved. Standing atop of a pillar, Maaya stood with a smile abroad her face. Hoshi, in the darkness, guided Hana back to her seat and then left the stage completely. No one needed any introduction to Maaya, they were already staring at her as the music started to play from somewhere. It was slow, to begin with, and so was Maaya as she pretended to be scared of the heights. It was only about 50 feet. Maaya had gone higher before. The acting was important though as she played dumb and innocent along with the wire that connected to another pillar. The music started to speed up and so too did Maaya until at the middle the music sounded Spanish. Three, two, one and Maaya erupted into a fiery tango by herself. Left, right, turn, jump, spin. All done on a wire and it seemed almost effortless as Maaya danced with grace but with some sort of anger as well. The turns were cruel, the jumps were sudden and unspoken while the spins were fast and confusing. Which way and everywhere she went until she eventually danced to the other side. Her performance wasn't as magical as Hoshi but by the end of it, she could see the crowds stare in awe, their faces growing closer to watch. Hoshi smiled and nodded and so too did Maaya. She jumped from the pillar, missing the wire on purpose. She started to fall and onto the ground, she plopped by the real Maaya vanished into the darkness. An illusion of Maaya flying appeared as she went on dancing in the air. Maaya danced on the ground clearly giving the illusion life before she spotted, a small steady breathe and a smile. She bowed to the audience and they were silent before they clapped. "I am nothing more than a Phantom ladies and gentlemen. Take a blink and you'll miss my whole show," she shouted to the audience before winking. The illusion of Maaya disappeared and Maaya scuttled off the stage. Meanwhile, Aomine Remi blasted two guards and small fires broke out. She ran onto the stage like it was met to happening and the audience couldn't hear any screams as the guards died. I guess clapping was deadly too. Aomine took the stage but needed no spotlight. The fire in her hands gave her a warm glow as she created fires and ran around like a mad woman. It was clear her performance wasn't special and was yet to be perfect but at such a young age people clapped for her still. Her stage performance didn't matter really, the guards had been dealt with and now people sept into the shadows. They were all part of the Troupe, dressed in al black and covered in shadows. They went in between the seats of the audience without causing a sound before taking anything that seemed of value. Hoshi took the audience soon after and a girl never came back from the bathroom afterwards. It was chaos yet it was calm and controlled chaos. Much like the stage. Aomine smiled and stopped as a clicked was heard in her headset. The night was over. They had got their loot. With a bow she escaped the stage and Maaya started the usual yammer, telling people to exit and not to cause a fust. As soon as it was handled she came running over to Andrei with a smile. "So, how did we do?" she asked innocently as bodies were swept away. A child was kidnapped and people left without their belongings. An average night for the Troupe of Treachery. He smiled sadly as Maaya ran over. "The performances themselves were outstanding. I loved it," he said. He looked up and cursed. "Why did you have to take the child?" he asked. He looked down back at her. He flicked his wrist as he kept talking. "I could've said I didn't notice the other things, but you kidnapped a child. I...I have to take you in." This wasn't like the first time that this has happened to Maaya. She was wanted and she knew it herself but for some reason, it hurt to come off Andrei. She sighed. I've gotten a bit soft haven't I, she thought and she looked around her Troupe. "Pack your things, we ain't staying in Japan," she said to her mic without moving her eyes from Andrei. After getting enough responses she took the earpiece out and threw it on the ground. She looked into Andrei's eyes. "You can't just forget about me, don't do this," Maaya tried. A fight was not needed yet. "I wish," he said. Something tore through the tent, crashing onto his arm. It expanded, it was part of his Hero Suit. The rest would come as time went on. "Maaya," he began, aiming the end of his palm towards her. "Please, don't make me do this." Maaya laughed softly. It wasn't some evil laugh but a laugh of despair. "How many times have I had this scene before me..." she asked to no one but herself. "You want to save the world, help that one kid that is our life support," she shook her head. He wouldn't understand but as always she would try. She would try and explain. "You make it seem like what I am doing is wrong; that I am some sort of villain. All we are doing is making a living off the rich that are so easily distracted by us," she knew behind her a few of her circus was watching, waiting. Packing up so soon wasn't good for them but all they could do was watch and hope. "Look at us all, we are all failures and we accepted that fate long, long ago. Now we have our fate in our hands and we are rewriting it to be our own and not someone else's luck. We don't want to be abandoned, to be disappointments, to be hated or to be famous. All we want is t life and to have a family. To live you need money and to have a family you have to look as hard as you can. We solve these problems the only way us failures have been doomed and choose to do," her ramble went on as tears sprung to her eyes. Why did this have to happen each and every time? Why did they always think they were helping people when all they were doing was causing their death? "Once the devil has you in his sight he won't let go till you fulfil his duties and his duties is that of a world of pain..." she muttered. Almost all convection was lost. Then her last plead. The last chance she would have to make him turn round though she knew the truth. That this was fruitless. "Let us go and let us live our lives the way we can only do. As failures, together!" She bit her lip. Damn her soft heart and damn herself. She knew he was trouble but it never made it easier. Never ever were they on the same team. Each time... they are with the law. Never do they put a blind eye to the acts they perform. They always notice yet she falls for the trap. Every. Single. Time. "You know I can't do that." Andrei murmured in response. "Please, let that kid go. I can turn a blind eye to the other stuff, but just let that kid go." he continued. "Please. I don't want to do this." Maaya looked at the ground. The tears stopped and she was silent for a few moments. They never understand... she lifted her head and took a deep breath. The Troupe knew what was happening and most scattered with the only people remaining on stage as those who were on stage for today's performance. "Very well... you wish to take me in. I understand," her voice was cold and was almost a whisper. It had no emotion to it, unlike Maaya's usual tone. No love was in her voice. "I suppose, as a Pro-Hero, this is your duty?" she laughed at herself. Duty. What nonsense they all believed. Yes, she was but a villain in their path. No matter what her opinion and voice cried. A long, slow blink took place before some solid determination came out of Maaya. She stared with conviction. "It was nice knowing you, Andrei," Maaya said with such finality it almost seemed true. With that, she turned around like there was no danger and she went to leave. Andrei sighed, he felt bad. But his duty had to come before...whatever it was he was feeling. He aimed his palm at her feet, and due to his equipment, it fired a beam. However, the beam wasn't meant to hit her. It slammed with the slight amount of ground in front of her. It was a warning shot of sorts. "Maaya," he began as another piece of his armour slammed into his back. "Surrender now." Once more she laughed. This wasn't her pitiful laugh like last time. This time it was eerie and filled with the hate that had been building up inside her. "The villain isn' suppose to stop after a warning shot, isn't it after you beat them down till they are ashes that they finally stop?" the words seemed foreign. The anger, the hate, it seemed forced and it was. An act that Maaya had perfected. The act of being an actual villain like the world viewed her to be. "Aren't you want to state such big terms when you are inside my tent," she clicked her fingers and kept on walking. Aomine Remi qued fire in her hands, the world seemed to shake in anger as illusions sprung to life and many people gathered around Maaya. "You are outnumbered. You should be the one surrendering AN-DR-EI!" He cursed. Maaya's kind self had retreated, she was becoming the villain she was expected to be. He sighed, deciding to follow suit; he'd become the Hero he was expected to be. Andrei flashed a cheeky smirk. "More people? That just causes more clean-up. You could be nice, let them get away. At least they'll be safe." Another piece slammed into him, and another. Within the span of a few seconds, he was fully armoured. He aimed his arm towards the group, a machine gun emerging from the forearm. "Let's get the show started, shall we, Troupe?" he said, as bullets flew out of the gun. Maaya didn't expect Andrei to take another person but she shook her head. She knew nothing of this man. He was nothing. She needed to stop being soft. If it was one good thing about being great at dancing and being on the tightrope it was her balance. A machine gun wasn't something she could fully dodge as she watched people go down but other than the impact she noticed they weren't doing much damage as she ran from side-to-side. Aomine was fine, she was blasting any and all bullets before they could touch her. Melting would be a better word. Around her though was people who weren't as lucky. They weren't made for this life. They didn't have the quirks that created them to be villains that fought a hero. Maaya could only be a coward and run towards her tent. At least then she would have a weapon. Andrei's AI had previously locked onto Maaya. There was no escaping him right now. The thrusters on his feet activated, granting him the ability of flight. He flew forwards, landing in front of Maaya. He brought his arm back up towards her, aiming the gun at her. He was close enough to shoot, but far enough away from her so she couldn't grab onto him. And so, he fired another stream of the horse tranquillizers at her. She cursed as she ducked but she knew whatever she would do she had no control of these events. She cried into her hands and could only scream. "I hate you, I hate you and all, you stupid heroes. You think you are saving the world but all you do is harm us! Why should I try to live when I can't even defend myself from an attack in my own home..." It hurt him to see her like that. But he couldn't do anything, he had to be a Hero. He kept firing at her, drawing her attention away from what he was about to do. From the back of his left foot, a mechanical snake of sorts slithered out. It turned towards Maaya, aiming itself. Once it was sure, it launched forward at a blitzing speed. It was meant to collide with Maaya's wrist, and eventually expand and constrict all her movement. Her movements were tired, almost lazy-like at this point. She swayed and turned like she was dancing but it was a dance of sheer desperation and pain. She wept and wept as she twisted and turned and ducked. Each move hurt more than the last and more and more did she want to just sleep. For it to be over. "Just don't take them in Andrei... leave them alone, you got asked for me right?" she blinked slowly and fell to the ground. "Let them run from here... please!" The snake collided, expanding and wrapping Maaya up like a jumpsuit. The helmet of Andrei's suit retracted, revealing his face. His eyes were in pain, it was obvious. "Maaya...just tell them to let the kid go. I can probably let this slide, say you guys overpowered me. Just don't kidnap children, please." Maaya looked the other way as tears stained her face. "I can't do that. The kid is fine, trust me but we need the money... we need the money," she seemed to repeat the line over and over again till it was just a noise; a constant mutter of a woman who had lost everything in a few seconds. Andrei cursed. "Money?! You're selling a kid for money?!" he exclaimed, angry. His eyes were watering. "If you need money, you can ask me!" he spat. "Just...let them all go. I..I don't want to do this." "We are demanding the money for the kids return... Hoshi makes it seem like the kid is beaten and demands some money from the family. We steal people's belongings to sell them back to them again. W-We kill guards and police because they don't understand... everyone just believes we are villains but we are just trying to live in this world," she shook her head. "I can't ask them to return the child if you wait a day the kid won't be on our hands and we will be gone! You will never see us again in Japan... I promise!" "Maaya..." Andrei murmured. "I-I...You just admitted to murder, and..." he began, at a loss for words. "I...have to take you all in. I'm sorry." he continued, as more snakes slithered in, with everyone else constricted. Maaya started to struggle but it was fruitless. She didn't care. It hurt. It hurt all over. "LEAVE THEM ALONE ANDREI!" she shouted with all her might as she struggled. "STOP IT! YOU BASTARD STOP IT!" it was the first time she had cursed at Andrei and she could only cry, struggle and scream. Her voice went silent as she muttered the last part. "Some of them are only kids..." "ENOUGH!" he yelled, louder than he had anticipated he would. "Do you think I want to do this?! You just had to leave the kid out of this, but you fucking didn't!" he spat. The snakes began to hover, keeping their prisoners wrapped in them. "They'll fly you to a special prison. Hopefully, it'll be fun there," he said, his helmet enshrouding his head once again. "Goodbye, Maaya." "Andrei... some of them are 5. Let them go. None of them would do anything if it wasn't for me! I commanded this all I commanded them! LET THEM GO!" she rambled on and on about the age and how they needed to be let go. SHe didn't care for herself anymore. She was doomed but the rest of the Troupe... She couldn't fight much more as she slowed down. The tranquillizers were taking effect and no matter how much she fought she couldn't. She muttered nonsense before closing her eyes. "Mom!" Maaya turned round to see a small child following her. She reached her hands before her trying to climb up. She shoved the girl away and kept walking but as she looked over her shoulder more and more children came all shouting and cheering for her. "Stop following me! Where are your parents!" Maaya asked she was yet to get used to the tongue they spoke and a few children smiled and giggled. The one that screamed before jumped onto her and smiled. "You can be our mom right?" Maaya shook her head and tried to get rid of her for the other children to jump on top of her. "Get a-" she stopped as she looked Many fo the children were wearing rags and hugged her closely. She was the last thing they had. Maaya was silent before pushing them off once more. She turned around a few faces of disappointed in the crowd or around ten. "Don't touch me," she said but she smiled softly. "Stay close though, the city is dangerous!" The kids cheered as they gripped her, ignoring her warning just a few seconds ago. Maaya tossed a little in her sleep muttering something about people before safe now. Around Andrei people of all ages that were kicking up a fuss stopped. They only stared at Maaya like they were mourning a loss. They allowed the snakes to take them in, some even jumping towards them. The Troupe did not want to fight without their leader. A deafen silence filled the tent as only a few tears and sniffs could be heared. Andrei was the only one left that was even trying. The snakes flew far, far away. Eventually, they had passed most of the well-known prisons, and the people were basically in the middle of nowhere. The snakes settled down, landing on a hillside. This was no prison, it was the countryside. The snakes unwrapped themselves from the group. One of the snakes turned towards Maaya, and from it, a familiar voice was heard. "Don't come back." Andrei's voice said. "Please, I don't want to do this again." The snake turned away, and all of them flew off, away from the Troupe of Treachery.